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Little Hats, Big Hearts, Declan’s Story & A Free Pattern

It’s that time of year again! The American Heart Association is currently seeking donations of knit, loom knit, or crochet hats for preemies and newborns. They’re for a program called Little Hats, Big Hearts, which strives to put little red hats on the heads of as many babies born in the month of February as possible. While they’re at it, they give parents of these newborns informational packets to help them understand congenital heart defects, a leading cause of death among infants. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 40,000 children born in the United States, or at least 8 of every 1,000 infants, have some form of congenital heart defect. Visit the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign page to find out how to donate hats in your area.

I discovered the project last year, and for those of you who haven’t been following along in real time, here’s a quick recap:

It’s ironic that the year I discovered the campaign and all this went down was the same year a close friend gave birth to her first child at just 25 weeks. A big target of Little Hats, Big Hearts is premature babies, a population that can have a range of health problems, including heart issues. While all those little red hats so many donated were finding homes all over the country, my friend’s son, Declan, was about to spend the second month of his teeny tiny life in an incubator.

Declan’s Story

Declan was born January 4 of this year, but he wasn’t supposed to arrive until mid-April. I was able to meet Declan in the NICU a couple weeks after his arrival. It was my first time in a NICU, and I’d never seen a person so small – at the time, Declan was no bigger than my forearm! Here’s his story from his mom’s perspective:

Declan was born at 25 weeks at 2 lbs and 13 in long. His coming so early was entirely unexpected and he was born just six hours after the first sign something was amiss. Life in the NICU is a bit of a roller coaster. The staff warns you that there’s usually a honeymoon period right after birth, but it’s often two steps forward and one step back. Many times during his stay, we’d see him taken off breathing support just to go back on it. It was 14 hours before I actually saw Declan in person for the first time and almost a week before I got to hold him.

He was born with a soft heart murmur, called a PDA, but that is normal for babies of his gestational age. It eventually went away on its own as he grew. One time we were worried he had an infection because he seemed to have a fever, but it turned out his bed was malfunctioning an they were trying to cook him.

Declan came home about two weeks before his due date at 6 lbs 2 oz. The last few weeks before he came home were some of the toughest because we knew he was so close. He’d be off the breathing support then back on and repeat. His primary care nurse ended up leaving a note written on a whole piece of printer paper in sharpie above his bed to make sure people didn’t screw up her work.
Declan is 10.5 months old now, but 7 months adjusted. They use an adjusted age until 2 for when to expect milestones.

To me, the greatest benefit of the hats you’re making is that it gives a piece of normalcy to the families. It was so sweet to see Declan in his first hat crocheted by my sister. There’s kind of a grieving process over not having a full term pregnancy, or normal birth experience. And then people don’t really know what to say to you, or you may not know how to feel yourself. A cute hat is a way to find joy in an incredibly difficult situation.

1. Look at those blue eyes! 2. Cue tears. I have to admit that even as a good friend of Declan’s mom, it was hard to know what to do or say when he arrived so early. If you’re struggling with what to say or do, I recommend making a few red hats! Make one (or more if the preemies are twins+), and make a few more to donate to Little Hats, Big Hearts. Knitting and crochet are a great way to channel anxiety, and you’ll be supporting a good cause while you’re at it.

I knit the Declan Hat with some stash yarn that I’d been wanting to find a good use for – I used a finer yarn and held three strands of it together for a chunkier knit.*

rnd – round
CO – cast on
sts – stitches
k – knit
p – purl
ssk – slip one st as if to k, slip one as if to p, k both sts together
(X sts) – indicates the number of sts in the rnd after working the decreases (ssk’s in this case)

This story was shared at the request of Declan’s mom, saying “For people who find your post because of the preemie angle, they need to see positive stories.” As of this writing, Declan is totally happy, healthy and about to take off all over the place!

PS: Our adorable Declan photoshoot was cut off by a squirrel stealing the bag of chips I’d brought to crinkle at the baby to make him smile. You know you’re with one of your best friends when you go from a semi-serious photoshoot directly to “Holy sh*t, that squirrel is stealing your chips!”

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a knitting, crochet and crafts designer. She first learned to knit at age 8 from a grandmother who saw in her a need for something to keep her busy. She's now a full time designer, video host, blogger & teacher. You can keep up with her designs and more by following handsoccupied on your favorite social network.

I made a bunch of red hats a few years ago and donated them. I was told by the local office in Kansas City that they do not want wool or wool blend yarns of any kind. They prefer cottons or acrylics for the yarn fiber.

Naturally I was bummed because I spin wool quite a bit. I had hoped to spin up some really lovely special superwash wool in a gorgeous red colorway, but that would not have been allowed by the hospitals.

I am glad to see that Declan is growing and out of the hospital! Hooray! Isn’t it amazing what God and love can do for a child? His blue eyes are beautiful!

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Hi! I’m Heidi Gustad, and I’m a yarn crafts designer and blogger, partial to primary colors, vintage style and most needlecrafts. Along with two designer friends, I co-host The Very Serious Crafts Podcast. My first book is set to be released in the fall of 2020.